Last month (May), health and wellness colleagues gathered at the American College Health Association Annual Meeting to hear about new approaches to help serve students’ mental and physical well-being. My pharmacy, HigherEdRx, attended because we wanted to shine a spotlight on a transformative opportunity for institutions – one that can help curb the spread of HIV among college students while significantly boosting funding for college and university health centers.
Our goal is to help get PrEP medications such as Descovy and STD treatments into the hands of as many sexually active college students as possible.
Nearly one in every five new HIV infections were from young people between the ages of 13-24, according to the CDC. While these numbers reflect a national trend, it’s important to recognize that many of these cases are happening on our college campuses, where students are often navigating newfound independence, social exploration and sexual health decisions with limited guidance or resources. Colleges and universities are uniquely positioned to intervene. They are not only centers of education but also vital hubs for health care and community engagement. By proactively addressing HIV prevention, these institutions can protect their students and build healthier, more informed campus cultures.
One of the most powerful tools available today are pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) medications. This is a once-daily mediation that can reduce the risk of acquiring HIV by up to 99% when taken consistently. However, fewer than 10% of eligible youth are currently using PrEP medications.
Why aren’t more college students using these medications? PrEP medications are costly and there is often limited access, but HigherEdRx is working to not only help with this public intervention, but also to provide a bit of a financial lifeline for institutions navigating shrinking budgets and increasing student needs.
HigherEdRx is a 340B pharmacy that helps colleges and universities become eligible for the federal 340B Drug Pricing program, which allows certain providers to purchase medications at a steep discount. Through our model, physicians at student health centers write prescriptions for Descovy, for example, HigherEdRx fulfills those prescriptions and mails them to the student. HigherEdRx then shares a portion of the program savings with the institution. If an institution has 100 students on PrEP each month, under our model, a college or university could see nearly $1 million in revenue share over the course of a year. That money can be reinvested into mental health programs, sexual health education, campus clinics, etc. This creates a virtuous cycle of care for students, but also sustainability for the institution.
The stakes are too high to ignore. A single missed opportunity to educate or prescribe could mean a life-altering diagnosis for a student. But with the right resources and partnerships, colleges and universities can dramatically change the trajectory of HIV prevention and support a generation that deserves to thrive both academically and physically.
At a time when campus budgets are being squeezed further, we are urging higher education leaders to consider integrating 340B-aligned pharmacy partnerships into their campus health strategies. It’s simply a win-win: students get access to critical preventive medications at little or no cost, and institutions gain resources to bolster their health services/programs. Public health shouldn’t compete with institutional solvency. With smart, value-aligned innovation, we can achieve both.
** Drew Bosso
Drew Bosso is Chief Sales Officer at HigherEdRx, an online pharmacy serving higher education institutions.
